Letters 10-20-08

Monday

I see the taxpayers in the city of Victorville are being asked to tighten their belts even more to support three bond measures which include the college, high school and elementary.

It seems to me with all the financial mess our country and state are going through right now, the people who masterminded these bonds were very insensitive to what is going on around them.

If that isn't bad enough, the state ballot has four bond measures for your consideration. Only one of those has any merit. Proposition 12 for the veterans, which has been going on for years, has a good track record and serves a very good purpose.

I'm sure you read the newspaper, watch TV news so you can see how our state legislature has gone berserk with spending. It is so bad, they can't pay all the bills. Their spending has exceeded the income.

Remember too, you must repay these bonds at more than double the amount originally borrowed. So, take a good look at what you are being asked to repay that will extend to your kids.

The solution is to take away government agencies' tax and spend ability. Would you give one of your kids a credit card and tell them to buy what they want? I don't think so. If the people we trust can't control the spending then we are going to have to take control ourselves.

This Nov. 4, let's send a message loud and clear: No new taxes.

Ralph CameronVictorville

We are being told that we need a bailout to ensure people can get credit. If this is the case, why didn't our congressmen stipulate to the banks that they would have to free up credit as a condition to receive this one-sided bailout?

Doesn't this prove that they didn't consider our plight but only rushed to enrich their cronies?

Mike O'NeilVictorville

Prop 8 and 'fairness'

I was thinking just the other day about the TV ads that are running in opposition to Proposition 8. They speak of "fairness," and "not treating some differently than others," and "loving each of our children equally." They appeal, in short, to the inherent values that we all like to believe we possess. Unfortunately, they miss the point and try to confuse the real issue with "good feelings."

Same-sex marriage isn't about "fairness" or "equality." It's about a stamp of approval granted by government and, by inference, society. Others have spoken of the rule of law and its relationship to our nation's Judeo-Christian foundation. Diversity is not a bad thing unless taken to extremes. I do not hate those whose sexual orientation is different than my own. I, as do many others, have members of my family who admit to being "gay." I don't love them any less for that fact. Once again, this isn't the point.

The point, quite simply, is how we view the idea of marriage itself. If we "grant" legal status to marriage between same-sex couples, where can we draw the line? Yes, they have a right to be with someone they love and wish to share their life. Could we not say the same of a 14-year-old girl and a 30-year-old man? Could we not allow a woman to marry her German shepherd dog or a man to marry a female sheep or pig? Who is being hurt if both love and enjoy their relationship? Marriage was intended to be between a man and a woman. Anything else might be satisfying to those who wish to pursue it ... but not to be granted the "blessing" of state sanction.

I won't quote the Bible as all those who've read it know what it says regarding same-sex relationships. Other cultures look upon things of this nature with feelings that go from mild amusement to death sentences. None, that I'm aware of, give it equal status to male-female relationships. Tolerance has its limits. Don't confuse kind feelings towards others and government approval; they're not the same thing.

Paul MammanoApple Valley

Two for trustee

As a recently retired teacher and assistant principal who spent my entire career in Apple Valley I want to join my fellow teachers who have publicly endorsed Rob Turner and Dennis Bender for election to the Apple Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees.

They have each given their adult lives to the students of Apple Valley and have selflessly committed to now spend their retirement years serving them as trustees.

These are not great times in education. Budgets are being cut, and increasingly we are being held accountable for educating students who come to us unprepared or unwilling to learn. There are daily decisions about budget and learning priorities that are not easy to make. But it's vital that we keep good, knowledgeable people on the board to make those though choices.

Dennis RightmerApple Valley

Obama's socialistic bent

John McCain does not have a dynamic personality which excites his supporters, but he is a man of good character and morals who clearly loves his country as proven by his military service and history of his patriotism and senatorial service. A vote for him will at the least ensure rational governance and the preservation of the constitutional freedoms that new now enjoy.

A vote for Barack Obama is absolute stupidity. His "love" for American values as set forth by our Founders is highly questionable. Our enemies in the East are praying for his election to the presidency.

The presidential election will determine the kind of America in which our children will live. The threat of socialism under Obama is real.

Walter CollinsVictorville

Not this year

I have never been ashamed of the U.S. nor will I ever be. Don't try to tell me that not one of the people who went to Barack Obama's church did not say, "Hey, did you hear what so-and-so said in church today?" That's impossible.

In my opinion, Obama is so much like Nixon it's sad. I'm just waiting for him to use the victory sign.

I've been a Democrat since I started to vote but not this year. I will vote for anyone who runs against any of our so-called representatives.All of them (Barbara Boxer, Dianne Feinstein, etc.) cut Hillary Clinton's throat just so they could prove how liberal they are. No thanks to all of them.

LaVon D. SmithOro Grande

It's raining outside

It's no wonder we're deeply in debt — the spending simply has to stop, and I mean stop! For some silly reason, this government is spending and spending and spending. Examples in a recent Daily Press are just a few, but into the multi-millions. I note that the Intrepid, a World War II aircraft carrier, has been refurbished and is on her way back to Manhattan at a cost of $120 million. Perhaps it was necessary. I have things that are necessary, but I'm putting them off for now — it's not a good time to be spending.

Then I read the U.S. is going to build a brand-new embassy in London because the old one won't do anymore; it was in the wrong location. I'll bet that new facility will be around $100 million. What's wrong with just fortifying the old one for far less money? This government doesn't know how to stop the spending at a time when we should be saving every possible dollar we can.

I was always taught to save for a rainy day. That rainy day is here, now.

Gene SeligVictorville

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